I don't get the negative comments here. This album is fantastic. I started with Amplified Heart (THE place to start) and began working back through the collection (first "Idelwild", then "Acoustic" and then "Worldwide"). This is a satisfying record. Don't give me this crap that it doesn't live up to their other stuff, because it does. I defy you to listen to "Talk to me like the Sea" or "Twin Cities" and tell me this record doesn't have a place in your collection. I guess that people are reticent to rate every record by a particular artist as brilliant, but I haven't come across one yet I haven't loved(haven't gotten "Tempermental" yet. Walking Wounded had it's moments, but I'm not as hip on the new sound as a lot of other people). By the way, "You Lift Me Up" should be played at every wedding.

I can't understand how this wonderful album has languished in obscurity since it's release 14 years ago. "Worldwide" is arguably my favorite album by Tracey and Ben during their pre-dance incarnation and for so many reasons. The title is absolutely perfect as it aims to bring up images of places all over the globe and it succeeds with songs like "Twin Cities", "Frozen River" and the heavenly "Talk To Me Like The Sea" (Love the title too). This is highly recommended and is a classic in my book!

Having read enough lukewarm responses from reviewers for the past 18 years since this album was released, I felt moved to finally give my 2 cents' worth about this timeless classic.

Recorded during the pre-"Missing" post-"Idlewild" days, this album was roundly shrugged off by casual EBTG listeners and avid fans alike who were still hopeful for some bossa-nova bedsit from this constantly musically-evolving pair.

Already disappointed by their lite-jazz outing 'The Language Of Life' in 1990 which they considered a sellout pandering to adult-contemporary MOR radio, "Worldwide" continued to alienate the 'serious' fans.(By the way the much-maligned 'The Language Of Life' contained pretty decent white soul hits like 'Driving' - before Todd Terry came along and remixed it to death -'Meet Me in the Morning' and 'Take Me' among other gems.)

Thematically-cohesive, as the title suggests, this album reads like the band's travel diary, traversing the human heart across geography. The most representative song for me on this album is "One Place" where the wanderlust is quelled by a deeper longing, to "be happy and fulfilled in one place". Sung with such heartfelt yearning, it's hard not to be moved by Tracey Thorn's voice.

From the teenage memories-laden 'Old Friends' to the bittersweet celebration of time-tested love in "Understanding", an ode to parents from a childhood experience in "British Summertime", a heady love song in "Talk To Me Like The Sea" featuring Ben Watt on vocals, this album is so chockful of timeless melodies, it's hard to dismiss this as just a stop-gap in the duo's 20+ years' illustrious journey as EBTG.

While EBTG's flirtation with New Wave ala the Smiths in 1985's "Love Not Money" and the lush orchestral torch songbook follow-up "Baby The Stars Shine Bright" in 1986 may have been more cutting edge in textbook terms, the love ballads in "Worldwide" made it a brilliant straight pop album.

Go listen to "Idlewild" and "Amplified Heart" because they are really brilliant albums, but don't dismiss "Worldwide" just because it sounded too tuneful and too pop. It made no pretensions to be anything else, so why shouldn't it be celebrated for what it is?

I've liked this band since 1990. True, the music is a little 80's, but the lyrics are great. 'Old friends' makes me think of when I was a single gal in NY, and 'Understanding' is a sweet serenade to a love that's stood the test of time. 'British summertime' chokes me up, a recollection of our innocence during childhood. And as they did on 'language', Ben Watt's voice invites us to put our head on his shoulder and appreciate the simple pleasures.

'Worldwide' is like an old photo album, a tribute to good friends and great loves. I would love to hear these songs played on less-dated instruments. The musical arrangements damaged 'talk to me like the sea' and made 'twin cities' nearly unlistenable. It sounds like it should be playing on 'Charles in Charge'.

Still, you can't beat good lyrics, and 'Worldwide' has them.

I've loved EBTG since I first heard Tracey Thorn singing on The Style Council's first album. And while the music has changed over the years: from folkie/Stan Getz/Young Marble Giants-ish sparse pop (their first album) to the string-filled Patsy Cline-inspired "Baby The Stars Shine Bright" to the slick pop-soul of "The Language of Life" and the excellent drums'n'bass of "Walking Wounded" - this album, "Worldwide", always was a clunker to me. I didn't think "Language of Life" was all that great, too over-produced but it had relatively good songs. This is so much worse: cheap drum machines, uninspired writing, hideously dated keyboards (and this was released in 1992!), and apparantly zero interest from Tracey's vocals. I've read a number of articles and the band were relatively disappointed with the direction the label (Warner Bros) pushed them into - and "Worldwide" sounds like a contract breaker (that didn't happen until 1994's "Amplified Heart", which was rather good!).

If you're a new EBTG fan and want to know which older stuff to get, please go buy "Idlewild" or "Baby..." or "Love Not Money" or their first album instead. They are so much better than this.